Witnesses

Professor James Ironside, Professor of Clinical Neuropathology, National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, University of Edinburgh

Professor John Collinge, Professor of Neurology at the UCL Institute of Neurology and Director of the MRC Prion Unit

The Committee will hear evidence from scientific experts on the potential prevalence of vCJD in the population, modes of ongoing transmission and current UK surveillance, control and prevention strategies.

“More than twenty years on from the BSE crisis, studies have suggested that thousands of people may still carry the infectious agent thought to cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease—the human form of “mad cow disease”.

“Although these people may never go on to develop symptoms of vCJD, important questions remain to be asked about the potential risk posed by this terrible condition and what the Government should be doing to reduce the spread of infection.”